Q: My first camera..
I'm graduating university and starting to make my own films.
Currently, I'm just using my iphone 5 and imovie app. The camera is great but imovie is basic and the lack of storage on an iPhone means I can only make 2 minute videos. Frustrating.
Anyway, I'm looking into getting a MacBook Pro and Final Cut Pro.
First of all, should I get the retina or non-retina?
Secondly, and most importantly...
I was in the apple store today and saw the stock/demo footage on the Final Cut Pro and thought it looked amazing. What camera did they use? Is there an entry level camera that comes anywhere near that kind of quality? Probably not, but the quality was brilliant.
I obviously don't have a lot of money.
Can anyone recommend a good HD camera that will work with Final Cut Pro and exceeds the quality the iPhone 5 camera?
I don't have much knowledge of cameras yet so don't be offended by my ignorance. Any suggestions are welcome.
Thanks
Posted on May 2, 2013 1:37 PM
Some more thoughts:
Apple today added flash memory to the new iMacs. For $300, you can get an iMac with really fast ssd.
Apple has perfectly fine refurbished computers which they sell on their site. Fcpx costs $300 and works with the latest AVCHD2 standard that lets you use cameras that record at 60 frames per second.
Do you have craigslist where you live, or the equivalent, where you can buy used? There really are a million fine cameras for under $700. When you whittle down your choices, I suggest going to YouTube and looking at the videos shot with that camera/camcorder to look at the quality. Also suggest you go to Amazon.com and look at user reviews to see if it works with macs.
I have a fine Panasonic camera, the fz200, which does fine video, but not pro of course.
Also have a really nice Panasonic hcv700, which is a camcorder. The new version, the 720, does wifi and lets you stream over Ustream, if that is of interest to you.
But I warn you, if you are truly just getting into this, that just as a hobby it has gobbled up my "free" money.Every six months them come out with better cameras and computers.
But fcpx really makes life fun, when you take the time to learn it.
Hugh
Posted on May 2, 2013 3:11 PM